The present invention is related to orthotic joints of rigid braces and more particularly to a manufacturing process for manufacturing orthotic joints which do not include sidebars.
Many different types of orthotic joints (such as knee joints) are currently in use. Almost every one of such joints have some mechanical joint made to flex and extend with the anatomical knee joints.
Typically, knee joints incorporated into long term knee ankle foot orthoses ("KAFO") (long leg brace) are made of steel with sidebars attached to thigh and calf cuffs. Individuals requiring long term braces generally obtain custom braces made from measurements and a casting of the affected limb. The braces are made by attaching sidebars to a steel joint that flexes and extends in the sagittal plane. A drop lock is pushed over the mechanical knee joint to lock the knee joint in place when the leg is fully extended so the knee will not buckle. Steel sidebars are, however, very heavy, and such weight limits the mobility of the brace wearer.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,630,791 issued to Glynn, an orthotic joint is described which operates without the use of sidebars. In the joint described in the '791 patent a stop/locking lap joint is incorporated into a lap joint using a lamination. However, because separate steps are used with the calf sections (in the case of a knee joint) being laminated first and then laminating a thigh section over the calf section, the process for producing such a brace takes considerable time.
It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide a technique of fabricating an orthotic joint which does not utilize sidebars.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing an orthotic joint which is a laminated joint produced in a single laminating procedure.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method of producing a laminated orthotic joint without sidebars which does not display a significant decrease in rigidity when compared to joints with sidebars.